Here is your official report for the Star Wars Miniatures North American National Championship of 2010!

In many ways, this year’s championship was much like the previous years. Players began arriving in the hall early that morning, filling out their squad sheets, discussing possible matchups, and trying to figure out how to beat those players that they always seem to lose against. In many ways it was different. This was only the 2nd year where a very limited map list was in place. In 2008, a similar short list of maps were given for the tournament, but it still included some maps that people considered unbalanced. In 2009 the Floor Rules had just been updated, and some maps moved to the ‘banned’ list, but it still included the ever abusive Taris Undercity and Teth Monastery. This year, none of that existed, and as a result, it was actually quite interesting to discuss people’s varied squad and map choices, and it was not uncommon to be surprised by people’s answers, rather than hearing the same “Oh, I’m playing the Snowspeeder” we heard last year. This would prove to be a huge benefit for the competition that day, and something that is sure to continue to have a positive effect on the competitive SWM environment.

55 players turned up for the Championship this year, a slight fall from last year, but still a very good number, especially considering the number of players the Community has lost since WOTC’s announcement to stop producing the game. We did not specifically record where these players were from, but from what I saw around the area, we had a pretty good representation of the major centers of SWM play across the country. The only real notable absence seemed to be the Texas crew, where Frank Baker, a top-8 finisher from last year, was from, along with several other top-tier players. So besides, the Texas group, we had a very good mix of players from all over the country, Canada, and even one guy from Eurupoe (Germany, if I remember correctly)! So because of that wide array of players, plus the stellar turnout we have had each year, the day started with a presentation to award a banner, which read “2009 World Champion” to Deri Morgan, for his 1st place finish last year. I assume a similar banner will be made up for the 2010 winner.

Very soon, pairings were produced, and the first round of matches began! With 55 players total, we only had to do 6 rounds of Swiss this year. Due to the new scoring system, it was determined that if you lost 2 games, you would need to score full 3-point victories in all your other games in order to have a shot at the Top 8. We played 3 rounds, and then took a 1-hour break for lunch. There were some difficulties with the new Pairing Software, but some reminders to the players to check their current points and made the rest of the day go smoothly.

The players all returned from their lunch break to run the grueling final 3 rounds of the tournament. By this point we only had 5 players who had dropped, which was pretty good overall. The matches finished out, and we had a short break while the judges verified the results of the Swiss rounds. This being the first year using the new Tournament Software, the judges wanted to be extra sure that the Top 8 had been determined correctly.

With that, the players dispersed for the evening. Some stuck around to play some friendly Dynamic Duo. Others headed out to celebrate their great day of gaming and hang out with dear friends for the rest of the evening.

Bright and early Sunday morning, the Top 8 returned to the gaming hall. All players knew who their Quarterfinals opponent would be, so players sat down, set up their pieces, and began their games. At the end of time for that first round, 4 players stepped aside, learning that their chances at a championship title would have to wait till next year.

Four players remained and faced off, Brandon vs. Phillip, and Daniel vs. Wes. Both of these games were very close matches, with intense duels. Daniel seemed to have the win firmly in place, but then if you looked at the game later, you saw that Mara Jade, Jedi was still alive, and had managed to kill off Daniel’s Han and Leia. Daniel ultimately came out victorious though. Brandon managed to triumph over Phillip, the swapping and strike-and-run style tactics just being too much for Phillip to overcome.

The final game came down to two opponents who deserved every right to be in those seats. The game was very well played. Daniel’s squad was one of the few that could actually out-activate Brandon’s build. Well played strategies cause Brandon to need to press the advance and try to take down Daniel’s pieces, which were set up in an excellent defensive pattern. Fate struck with its cruel lightsaber, however, when Brandon took the plunge to engage with Lord Vader, and then not only rolled a 1 against Daniel’s Luke Skywalker, Rebel Commando, but also took a crit from one of Luke’s Djem So Style attacks. From there, the Han Cannon combo put a beating on Vader, and General Crix Madine did what he does so well, keeping Vader from swapping to safety. The following round, Daniel finished off Vader, and sealed his spot as the 2010 Champion!

Now, I know all of you have read much of these reports from other players already, so let’s get to the part that you probably really want to know. The stats! Here is what I’ve been able to gather regarding the Championship for this year.

- Total number of players: 55- Number of players which dropped: 15- Total number of games played: 152- Games finished with 3-point wins: 116- Games finished with 2-point wins: 31- Total number of Byes: 5- Highest Opponent’s Match Win %: Gray Whitsett (Admiral Graybar) @ 70% (Faced 3 Top-8 finishers then dropped before the final round – Tough day!)- 5 of the Top 8 finishers had all 3 point victories. Daniel Stephens was 5-1, but only made the Top 8 because he got 3 points on his final game. With only 2 points, he would’ve had only 11 total, and would’ve been ranked 12th instead.- Top 8 standings were determined very easily by Total Points, Match Win %, and Opponent’s Match Win %. Determining the standings was very simple this year, with no hint of randomness or sorting alphabetically.- Faction break down for all the squads were as follows:

All following squad stats exclude any Reserves/Reinforcements pieces. I only had the submitted Squad Sheets to pull this data from. For instance, I would expect a lot more than 55 Mouse Droids were used in the squads, but it depends on he Reinforcement choices. In addition, I was missing one squad sheet (Gunther Thorington). No idea if it just got lost or what, but I could add that data in, if Gunther provides me with his squad.

- Total number of pieces used in the tournament: 658

- Total number of different pieces used: 123

o 74 different Uniques, making up 48% of the total squads o 39 different non-Uniques, making up 52% of the total squads

New RepublicAll but 1 NR squad included Mara and Ganner. That lone stand-out was Laura Kiernan’s squad with Garm and Yuuzhan Vong Ossus Guardians, which also earned her an award for creative squad design (and guts to play it in the Championship, haha). Kyle Katarn featured prominently in 77% of the NR builds, with 4 of those in the Top 16. Wedge featured in 6 of those squads with Kyle, with the Twi’lek BSV also in 5 of them, so it’s apparent that people still think that Kyle needs Evade and Greater Mobile in addition to Ganner’s Levitation.

RebelThere were 24 Rebel and New Republic squads, and all but one of those included Dodonna. The one without Dodonna was a squad run by Courtney Moore and was an old ‘Rebel Heros’ type of squad, even including the original Rebel Storm Chewbacca. There was only one Snowspeeder squad, and one Landspeeder squad, certainly a stark contrast from last year! Oddly enough, both squads were good builds, but Gray’s Snowspeeder faced several Top 8 finishers early on and lost close, tough games to them. Phillip’s Landspeeder proved that he evaluated the meta well and saw the Landspeeder’s added potential against the rest of the field rather than the Snowspeeder.

RepublicThere were 18 Republic squads, but only 12 Yoda on Kybucks in play, with 1 squad being GOWK-centered, and at least 1 Senate Commando squad. This continues to show the Republic versatility, as they were the faction represented with the most different types of squads. Even the Kybuck squad did not have much similarity, with only 9 of them containing General Skywalker, and even more diversity after that, ranging from Captain Rex, to Ferus Olin, to Plo Koon. For instance, Graham’s top 8 Kybuck squad was vastly different both in squad build and play-style required compared to the ones Trevor and Aaron utilized for their Top 8 finishing builds.

ImperialAll 6 Imperial squads included Mith’raw’nurodo, continuing to show his value to the faction. Beyond that, it was a good mix of squad types, with no two squads the same. Brandon Pyle truly showed his absolute mastery of his squad by climbing to his 5th place finish in the Swiss, when the next closest Imperial player was ranked 35th!

SeparatistsIG Lancer Droids were used in 3 out of 4 Separatist squads, and every one of them included Darth Sidious as well. The difference that put Jason Kiernan’s version in the Top 8? It would seem that having two Lancers and NOT including San Hill is the way to go, as that was the primary difference. It’s a risky squad build, but Jason showed that he obviously knew how to play it right. And here I have to give props to Brian Re as well, for running a ‘fun squad’ with his Whorm-boosted X-1 Viper, and mostly losing all day, when I know he could’ve run any number of other more competitive builds and done much better. Thanks for helping push up the number of different pieces used throughout the day. Incidentally, he was the only player to use Darth Tyranus, LOTDS and the A4 Series Lab Droid as well, which frankly surprised me a little, as Tyranus excels at dealing with Kybuck, Lord Vader, and the NR beats.

MandalorianJason Alvey took one for the team this year, to make sure that we had a presence of Mandalorians on the battle field. Based on his tournament report, it sounded like he had some rough luck, but we’re looking to people like him to continue that trend and bring the Mandos out next year. Who knows, instead of 31st place, it’s quite possible they could be at the top.

Yuuzhan VongI gotta give props out to Don Thomas for going with what he loves to play. He played it well too, as I had to face him in Round 2, and all the Self-Destruct damage was a real pain for my mostly melee build. He was the 4th lowest ranked person at the end of the day, but I commend him for not dropping, and having fun with the squad he chose for the day.

FringeObviously, based on the stats above, there were still a very fair number of Fringe pieces in use. Pieces like Cad Bane and Dash Rendar continued to show how powerfully they could be used. However, Cad also showed that he is still not ready for top-tier play, as the highest a squad with Cad placed was 34th, in Brandon Knoezer’s Rebel build. Dash however, continued to prove that he is Grade A material, appearing in 3 of the top 8 and 6 of the top 16. Lobot’s ability to customize your squad, and many times this year, bring in 10 Mouse Droids, was still very important, and he appeared in 5 of the top 8 squads. Several other Fringe support pieces continued to be popular like the IG-86 Assassin Droid, Jarael, and the Twi’lek Black Sun Vigo. The R7 proved its dominance in the new meta, with not a single showing of a Rebel version of R2-D2. While many Republic squads still utilized R2-D2 Astromech Droid, many of those ended up using BOTH R-series droids. As always, Fringe fodder seemed to be the order of the day. There are still not many ‘in-faction’ pieces that can take the place of Ugnaughts, Gran Raiders, Mouse Droids, or Rodian Brutes, and those saw play in literally every squad. Daniel Stephen’s winning squad utilized the Gha Nachkt/Lobot combo so that he could bring in 10 Mouse Droids and get a total of 25 activations, and combined with Dodonna, ensured that he could out-activate any opponent he faced. This proved to be a key reason that he was able to defeat Brandon Pyle for the Championship.

In conclusion, this Championship was one unlike any other, in my opinion. A lot of new faces appeared at the top tables this year. It was neat to see that 5 of the top 8 were players who had never made the top 8 in the past. Squad design was much more varied than last year, especially at the top tables, as evidenced by the fact that there were 5 separate factions involved in just the top 8. Last year, it was 7 Rebel squads and a Republic squad! So, quite obviously, the new Restricted Map List seemed to be very popular with everyone, so much so that I heard many times throughout the weekend, that players had wished that the Jedi Challenge event had been using the Restricted List as well instead of the Standard List.

All in all, it was an incredible event, once again, run by a great team of judges, and other than a couple small snags with the new pairing software, the entire thing went so smoothly. I for one am certainly looking forward to next year’s Championship already, and the new faces, squads, and maps that will be seen there.

And just in case anybody wants to see this sort of stuff, the Tournament Software with all of the parings and scores for the tournament is attached, along with a list that includes all of the squad lists for the tournament.

Attachment:

2010 Championship.zip

Attachment:

2010 Championship Final Standings.pdf

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post._________________-AaronMand'alor"You either die a hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain."

Thanks for compiling all of this Aaron, love the 'numbers' breakdown. As some will point out, the dominance of the big 5 was predicted ahead of time, but as you said, lotsa diversity. Now after all that, I can't wait for GC 2011!

EDIT.. Tim Ballard's Squad had Lobot in it. so add +1 to those Lobot #s!also.. how can I make the SS program show me the final list including points and opponent w/L ?

_________________Winner of the Knights of the SWMGamers Stats Contest<Joruus (GFC)> - Sheesh, I swear you're like Fool 2.0 (and you can quote me on it xD)Archives of the Gamers JediJoin the FOLLY! Online casual League, find out more here: FOLLY

Alright!! Glad there was a Yuuzhan Vong squad represented, since I couldn't make it this year (CV)...I was a little worried there'd be no representation at the Championship. And no, NR doesn't count as a YV squad. But props for creating a unique NR squad.

It looks liike 3 people played him: they finished in 34th, 44th, and 45th place. The thing is, Cad is really fragile, so you have to play him VERY carefully. And in many squads, Dash RS can do just as much damage as Cad would, and Dash costs 1/2 as much. Cad can be good, but you do need to build around him and protect him really well (kinda like Boba BH, back in the day).

_________________"Don't give the tool more credit than the master." --Weeks

also.. how can I make the SS program show me the final list including points and opponent w/L ?

I've posted a new file with the final standings. However, for some reason it's putting a blank line in there and bumping Alex's name off the bottom of the list. Have to investigate how it's sorting those lines I suppose.

_________________-AaronMand'alor"You either die a hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain."

I only have 1 question: Where were the Dejarik builds? I thought those figs "kick mighty ass?" I guess there are a lot of people with "incomplete" sets.

Actually, I thought there was someone using dejariks in the champs? I know I saw them used multiple times throughout the weekend, but I was pretty sure someone used the Hojix at least in the champs, but maybe that's the lost squad list lol.

Next time Gunther posts, better be to give us his Squad, as he's the one squad I was missing!

Yes, there were some Dejariks in play. Dan (Tom?) Gaither was playing a Rebel build with Crix and Commandos, and he included a Houjix and a K'lor Slug. He also had Lobot CLO, so perhaps he brought in more Dejariks with Reserves.

_________________-AaronMand'alor"You either die a hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain."

Alright!! Glad there was a Yuuzhan Vong squad represented, since I couldn't make it this year (CV)...I was a little worried there'd be no representation at the Championship. And no, NR doesn't count as a YV squad. But props for creating a unique NR squad.

Your welcome, it finished about as I figured, a couple of dice rolls here or there might have shifted a game or two but not much. I'm stocked for the V-Sets so I can really put a Vong squad on the field.

I agree NR doesn't count as a Vong build, but it's currently the only way to give Vong a movement breaker and make them really nasty, after all a melee faction should have a movement breaker ability somewhere.

But thanks for the support everyone. Vong are one of my favorite factions because they truely stand apart from all the other factions in the way they have to be played.

Oh and as for Cad Bane, he's not worth his points, even in SS, and with a bodyguard he's just not worth it.

_________________"Rolling a Natural 20, there is no other feeling like it."

Member of the SWMRACMember of the Completed till the End and Beyond Club

Well, Gunther was over here and I told him you said that, and mentioned that I was sure his special something was a full lightsaber. Would you like to know his response? "Oh my god, I've always wanted a big lightsaber!" I don't know if I have ever seen my wife fall over laughing so hard!!! He is very appreciative of the big lightsaber you gave him, Dean. ROFL

_________________That's right, it's always the one in the middle you would least expect to be the most dangerous!

All I have to say is ray is a jerk. But really thank you all. I would not be even close to player or person I am today without this game and this community. I have made so many great friends that have left a ever living imprint in my life and I hope I have done the same. This means the world to me as I have always been kind of big on the forms ( A top trader and an occasional poster) I just had fun at this turny and Aaron great meeting you and I will post my squad tomorrow. Oh I guess I should thank Dean for giving my the big lightsaber I have always wanted

_________________Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody the power, the other to crave it.

All I have to say is ray is a jerk. But really thank you all. I would not be even close to player or person I am today without this game and this community. I have made so many great friends that have left a ever living imprint in my life and I hope I have done the same. This means the world to me as I have always been kind of big on the forms ( A top trader and an occasional poster) I just had fun at this turny and Aaron great meeting you and I will post my squad tomorrow. Oh I guess I should thank Dean for giving my the big lightsaber I have always wanted

"...your swartz is as big as mine....."

Way to be a good sport Gunny. You are for certain a fine young man despite what that hillbilly told you after you ran him over on your Schwinn.

_________________"Rolling a Natural 20, there is no other feeling like it."

Member of the SWMRACMember of the Completed till the End and Beyond Club

All I have to say is ray is a jerk. But really thank you all. I would not be even close to player or person I am today without this game and this community. I have made so many great friends that have left a ever living imprint in my life and I hope I have done the same. This means the world to me as I have always been kind of big on the forms ( A top trader and an occasional poster) I just had fun at this turny and Aaron great meeting you and I will post my squad tomorrow. Oh I guess I should thank Dean for giving my the big lightsaber I have always wanted

"...your swartz is as big as mine....."

Way to be a good sport Gunny. You are for certain a fine young man despite what that hillbilly told you after you ran him over on your Schwinn.

You play nice Darth Groper or I will tell your master Darth Cuddles.

_________________Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody the power, the other to crave it.

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